Dredge for shell-fish



(No Modki),

' A. F. FRIEND.

DREDGE FOR SHELL FISH.

nAAAAAAAAAI WITNESSES:

r1. PETERS. Phala-ulm n m wuhm lm. mi.

UNITED: STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS FRIEND, or enAvEsEnD, NEW YORK.

.D'REDGE FOR SHELL-FISH.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 279,373, dated June12, 1883.

Application filed March 27,1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, -AUGUSTUS F. FRIEND, of Gravesend, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Dredges for Clams and other Shell-Fish, of which the following 7 is afull, clear, and exact description.

7 Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts of all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improvement, part being broken away. Fig.2 is a sec tional side elevation of the same, taken through the line xm, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of one of the gage-wheels, itsaxle, and a part of the draw-bar. I

The object of this invention is to facilitate the digging of clams andother shell-fish.

The invention consists .of the combination and arrangement of partssubstantially as hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

A represents the draw chain or rope, the rear end of which is branched,or is attached to a bail, B. The ends of the branches or bail of thedraw-chain are connected by clevises G or other suitable means with thedraw-bar 1), upon the opposite side of and equally distant from itscenter.

In the ends of the draw-bar D are formed holes to receive the uprightarms of the right angled axles E, which are secured in place byset-screws F, so that by loosening the said set-screws the said axlescan be raised and lowered to cause the machine to work deeper orSllflllOWGl in the ground, as maybe required.

Upon the outer arms of the axles E are placed wheels or shoes G to rollor slide upon the surface of the ground and support the forward end ofthe machine at the required ele 'vation.

cut away. v

To the inclined bars of the plow-plate J are attached the forward endsof the parallel bars or rods K, the rear ends of which are attached tothe rear bar of the said plow-plate. The rods K are placed at such adistance apart that. the clams or othenshell-fish cannot pass throughthe spaces between them.

, To the rear bar of the plow-plate J is hinged the cross-bar L, towhich are attached the forward ends of the bars or rods M, which are anisosceles triangle, and has its middle part parallel with each other andat such a dis= tance apart that the clams or other shell-fish cannotpass through the spaces between them, while the sand will be allowed topass freely. The rear ends of .the bars or rods M are at= tached to across-bar, N, which is made longer than the cross-bar L, and is providedat its ends with wheels or shoes 0 to move along the surface of theground. Vith this construction the screen L M N, as the plow H J K isdrawn forward, will be drawn forward in an inclined position, itsforward end being hinged to the said plow beneath the surface of theground, and its rear end being held above the surface of the ground bythe shoes 0, so, that the sand will pass through the spaces between therods M, while the clams or other shell-fish will slide up the rods M tothe surface of the ground and pass off the upper end of the screen L MN.

To the rear edge of the cross-bar N is at tached the lower part of themouth of the bag P, which is made of woven wire or chains andwith theupper part of itsmouth extended farther forward than the lower part.edge of the upper part of the mouth of the bag I is attached to across-bar, Q, to the ends of which are attached the rear ends of wiresorchains The forward ends of the wires or chains B are attached to theends of a crossbar, S, which is attached at its center to the plow-beamI-I, above the forward part of the plow-plate J. With thisCO11S'D1ll0hl01],QS the shell-fish pass from the rear end of the screenL M N they are received in the bag 1 and detained while any sand that mbe with them is washed out by the water.

In a slot in the forward part of the plow- The L beam H is pivoted atits angle the lever T, the lower arm of which projects to. the rearwardand is curved upward, as shown'in Fig. 2, to adapt it to serve as a shoewhen forced down into contact with the ground.

To the end of the upper arm of the lever T is attached the end of acord, U, which passes back to and around a pulley, V, pivoted to asupport attached to the middle part of the cross-bar S. From the pulleyV the cord U passes along the draw-chain A to the place where the poweris applied, so that it can be conveniently reached and operated. withthis construction, when the cord U is drawn upon, the lower arm of thelever T will be forced down upon the ground, raising the for ward end ofthe'plow beam H and the point of the plow-plate J, and causing the plowto run out of the ground, so that the machine can bev 'bentlwer T, thecord U, and the pulley V,

substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the point of theplow-beam can be raised to cause the plow to run out of the 1 ground, asset forth.

AUGUSTUS r. FRIEND.

\Vitn esses JAMES T. GRAHAM, G. Snncwrcn.

